Crosby cleared for contact, a big step in recovery

TribLIVE Sports Videos

Email Newsletters

Rob Rossi podcasts

Traveling by Jeep, boat and foot, Tribune-Review investigative reporter Carl Prine and photojournalist Justin Merriman covered nearly 2,000 miles over two months along the border with Mexico to report on coyotes — the human traffickers who bring illegal immigrants into the United States. Most are Americans working for money and/or drugs. This series reports how their operations have a major impact on life for residents and the environment along the border — and beyond.

The helmet signaled that center Sidney Crosby finally could be treated like the rest of his Penguins teammates, at least during practices, and marked the end of his wearing different colored head gear to designate "noncontact" status.

Crosby, the face of the Penguins and the NHL, announced Thursday that team physician Dr. Charles Burke cleared him for contact -- arguably the biggest news this sport has generated since Crosby was diagnosed with a concussion Jan. 6.

"Doing light stuff and feeling pretty good and the way I responded to everything the last few weeks, it was a good sign," Crosby said.

The news overshadowed another black helmet, this one worn by teammate and fellow center Evgeni Malkin, who returned from a two-game absence last night to face the Washington Capitals at Consol Energy Center.

Even Crosby's archrival, Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, welcomed word that Crosby, currently symptom-free, is closer to playing games.

"Of course I'm excited," Ovechkin said before last night's game. "He's a great player. I love playing against him. It's good for fans to see the top players on the ice. Of course everybody wishes him the best.

"He's going to be back, and it's going to be more exciting than ever."

There is no timetable for Crosby's return to games, but he left no doubt about what he can handle during practices.

"Full contact," Crosby said, later joking he "might have to do something to get (Penguins teammates) to hit (him)."

The Penguins' game against Washington was their fifth in eight nights. They play Buffalo at home Saturday night, begin next week with back-to-back games at Winnipeg and Minnesota, and finish the month with five games from Oct. 20-29.

The NHL season is young, but Wednesday already marked the Penguins' first optional practice, and only 12 skaters opted to dress. A heavy first-month schedule will limit the practices in which Crosby can fully participate, making it harder to assess what he can handle.

"It makes it difficult," Bylsma said. "That's why (yesterday) he participated on a line because he hasn't been on one for a lot of the practices. Trying to give him those situations a little more often is something we're going to do every chance we get."

Crosby's line included left winger Matt Cooke and right winger Pascal Dupuis. He also worked as part of the first-team power play.

Malkin had not dressed since Saturday in Calgary. He said yesterday the scar on his surgically repaired right knee began bothering him during that game.

Bylsma said that soreness was not unexpected based on the conversations he had with the team's medical staff regarding Malkin's recovery from surgery in February to repair torn right knee ligaments.

Including last postseason, the Penguins had been without Crosby and Malkin for 46 of their past 53 games. Prior to last season, Crosby and Malkin had rated as the club's two top scorers in their first four years as teammates.

Entering last night's game, the Penguins were 23-10-6 in regular-season games without Crosby and Malkin dating to Crosby's concussion diagnosis.

"The system's the same whether they play or not, but they take it to a whole new level," Cooke said. "We play in a structured system, but there is some freedom there. When we have the puck, we want to go in a certain direction, but when they're out there ... they can beat two guys by themselves. They can create unique opportunities.

"We as a group aren't trying to hinder that by being so systematic that they can't bring that element to the game."

Crosby concussion timeline

Penguins center Sidney Crosby said Thursday he has been cleared by team physician Dr. Charles Burke for "full contact" practices, marking the next step in his recovery from a concussion and concussion symptoms. There still is no timetable for his return to game action.

> > Jan. 5: In the Penguins' next game, he is driven from behind into the boards at Consol Energy Center by Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman. Crosby returns to play and accompanies the team on a post-game flight to Montreal.

> > Jan. 6: After waking up in Montreal with symptoms such as headache, nausea, disorientation and neck soreness, Crosby returns to Pittsburgh and is diagnosed with a concussion.

> > March 31: He resumes on-ice practices with Penguins at Tampa Bay but is not cleared for contact participation.

> > April 20: He participates in a final noncontact practice before he is shut down by the Penguins midway through Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs because of headaches.

> > June 2: He is cleared by Michael Collins, a clinical neuropsychologist with UPMC who heads his concussion team, for regular offseason workouts, but not contract.

> > July 15: Penguins general manager Ray Shero says Crosby had resumed regular offseason workouts but that Crosby was not cleared for contact. Shero called Crosby's playoff shutdown a "step back, not a setback."

> > Aug. 14: Amid Internet buzz that Crosby had experienced a setback, Shero says Crosby had experienced a reoccurrence of concussion symptoms but that he has not been shut down from offseason training.

> > Aug. 24: The Penguins release a statement saying Crosby, with team approval, had sought alternate opinions from concussion experts in Michigan and Georgia because he had experienced headaches after conducting on-ice workouts at "90 percent exertion."

> > Sept. 7: Crosby updates his status at a news conference that includes Shero, Collins and Ted Carrick, a Florida-based chiropractor who specializes in neurological treatment. Crosby says he "likely" would play this season.

> > Sept. 16: Crosby says he is cleared for noncontact participation in training-camp practices. Carrick tells WDVE-FM that Crosby is "as ready (for physical contact) as just about any player in the league."

Source: Tribune-Review records

Photo Galleries

Sidney Crosby Cleared For Contact

Penguins captian Sidney Crosby skates with the black helmet and has had full contact for almost two weeks at Consol Energy Center, Tuesday, November 1, 2011.

TribLive commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments  either by the same reader or different readers.

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

Total Promotional Solutions

A division of Trib Total Media is your one-stop-shop for all of your branded merchandise needs.

We specialize in providing quality affordable promotional products for every type of business including non-profits, schools, universities, sports teams and more. With 1000’s of products to choose from, our knowledgeable staff can help you find the perfect apparel item or product to suit your needs and budget.

Digital Sales

We offer a wide variety of traditional and new digital advertising options customized to fit your needs!

Whether you're just starting out, or you've been a keystone in the community for years, our knowledgeable staff can provide you with a customized package including online banners/advertisements, Social Media Marketing (Facebook / Twitter), Website development, Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing solutions and much more!

Contact your local sales rep today for details, personalized proposal and a meeting to discuss how we can meet your needs.